


equals - taekook au

by kenthedoll



Category: Equals (2016), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: (it's real bittersweet. you will probably cry), Angst With A Mostly Happy Ending, Bottom!Taehyung, Dystopian Future, Faked character death, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Illustrator!Jungkook, M/M, Minor Character Death(s), Mpreg/Male Pregnancy, Science Fiction, Secret Relationship, Smut, Suicidal Character(s), Top!Jungkook, emotions are illegal basically, several mentions of suicide(s), writer!taehyung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:35:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26719909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenthedoll/pseuds/kenthedoll
Summary: After the bombs dropped, wiping out 90% of the Earth's population, those who survived rebuilt a new society, free of emotion, designed to control the violent impulses which nearly destroyed them. Everyone is considered equal, and their sole purpose in life, is to serve The Collective. However, when a new sort of disease begins to increase the rate of local deaths by suicide, certain members of the society begin to feel things they never imagined possible.ORThe Taekook version of the 2015 movie Equals, starring Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Holt
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V
Comments: 13
Kudos: 45





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE
> 
> THIS STORY IS A DIRECT COPY OF THE MOVIE "EQUALS"
> 
> IT HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED FROM MY WATTPAD ACCOUNT (@ ken-the-doll) BECAUSE OF WATTPAD'S INCREASING RESTRICTIONS

_"The Collective runs by everybody doing their part."_

Jeongguk had heard the same monotonous voice over the loudspeakers, every single morning, for the entirety of his life.

_"Report suspicious activity to Health & Safety. Health & Safety is here to help. Just look for the black and white vests."_

The words had been ingrained in his mind, leading him to let the voice drift in one ear and out the other, as he held his wrist over the scanner in the subway, allowing him passage to his place of work.

Jeongguk had been illustrating for _Atmos_ since the day he'd been deemed physically capable of working.

A photograph of himself, along with his name, occupation, and destination, appeared on the small screen beside the scanner.

**NAME:** _Jeongguk_  
 **OCCUPATION:** _Illustrator_  
 **DESTINATION:** _Atmos_

Then, his photograph and information were swiftly replaced by that of the next person in line.

On the train, as he watched footage of _Atmos_ ' rocket ship, Equis 12--which was due to land the following evening--a special bulletin announcement overtook his screen.

_"This is a message from The Collective. Are you overly tired or experiencing increased sensitivity? Maybe you have difficulty concentrating. You may have S.O.S. Switched On Syndrome."_

Jeongguk listened and waited patiently for the announcement to be over with, then switched right back to the rocket ship footage, before the train inevitably came to a halt upon arriving at his destination.

Jeongguk went about his business as usual, entering the main _Atmos_ building and approaching his workstation, whereupon he continued his digital illustration of the latest report from The Peninsula--the outside--where no one from within The Collective dared to go.

The illustration was to match the words of Jeongguk's co-workers, who would provide him with detailed audio clips of the reports, which he would bring to life through his artistry in turn.

_"Bombs dropped for the span of 28 days and obliterated 99.6% of usable arid land on the Earth's surface; An event that changed the course of human kind forever, and is now known as The Great War--"_

Jeongguk pressed the fast-forward button, in order to skip ahead to the bits he hadn't already heard.

_"--of the two tracts of land that survived The Great War. The Peninsula still stands 44° west of The Collective, and is a wild, primitive area, containing empty, dilapidated buildings--"_

Jeongguk pressed fast-forward again, having already drawn the dilapidated buildings in question the day before.

_"--and little is known of the primitive nature of The Peninsula's inhabitants. The Defects living there are ruled by emotion and base desires; An ancient vestige of our past."_

**\---**

"This image shows Equis 12 leaving Earth's orbit on last week's interstellar mission," Leonard--Jeongguk's boss--explained to his group, as he stood before a projection of his own illustration. "Who wrote the text for this feature?"

"Me," said the young man seated across the pristine, white table from Jeongguk. "I did."

"Does this look accurate, Taehyung?"

"Yes," the man confirmed simply. "Except, the rocket's fission thrusters are cylindrical... these appear triangular."

"Thank you," Leonard nodded graciously. "I'll change that."

**\---**

"Iris is back from conception duty," a co-worker pointed out during their lunch break, leading Jeongguk, Taehyung, and the rest of the group to crane their heads and glance back at the woman in question.

"She got back yesterday," said Kate, another co-worker. "She had a Defect."

"How do you know?" Jeongguk asked curiously.

"She told me."

"Did she have the bug?" Rachel inquired, from her seat in front of Jeongguk.

"No. She says she's clean," Kate answered.

"Where is everyone watching the landing tomorrow night?" Jeongguk changed the subject, as he didn't wish to talk about someone else's business as if it was his own.

"I'm watching it in Bishop Park," Rachel told him. "I'm going to leave work early to get a good seat. If I arrive early enough, I can get a seat close to the screen."

**\---**

That night, as Jeongguk approached the apartment building of which he lived, he was forced to watch as members of Health & Safety, dressed in vests of black and white, escorted a middle aged man away from the building.

He was dressed in nothing but the quilt he had wrapped around his body, and his face was that of a statue, blank and unfeeling, despite the look of anguish in his eyes.

A woman around the same age was escorted out, not far behind the man, who she desperately called out for.

"David!!" she sobbed, tightly clutching a quilt of the same material around her own body, as the Health & Safety workers struggled to keep her biceps in their grasp. "David!!"

"You're in safe hands now, folks," said one of the workers to those standing nearby. "Please, continue on your way."

So Jeongguk curiously glanced back at the couple, who had quite obviously been caught being physical with one another in one of the apartments.

"They're being taken to The DEN," he heard one of his neighbors whispering to another, about the fate of the couple, as he carried on inside to his own apartment.

On the floor of the hallway, just outside his door, was a boxful of ingredients for his dinner that night.

A box like this would be waiting for him every evening after he'd return home from work and, just as he had done every other night before, he'd take the box inside and press his fingertips against the word **EAT** on the wall beside the door.

Pressing the word would lead the seemingly empty apartment to shift and change to fit whatever option he'd chosen. The only other two options being, **SLEEP** and **LIVE**.

Therefore, the wall at the far side of the room slowly ejected a kitchen countertop, with drawers full of the means necessary to prepare his meal. Recipes, involving the ingredients of that evening, appeared on a screen embedded in the wall beside the counter.

As he shrugged off his typical white blazer, another panel slowly ejected from the wall at the opposite side of the room, allowing him to hang the article of clothing and send the closet panel sliding back into the wall so he could begin cooking.

After dinner, Jeongguk sat down and completed a complicated _Jenga_ -like puzzle.

 _"Total number of puzzles solved: 2,224,"_ announced the same robotic voice he'd heard each time he completed another.

All the while, however--for reasons unbeknownst to him--the image of that middle aged couple being sent to The DEN invaded Jeongguk's conscience.

Then, on the train ride to _Atmos_ the following morning, Jeongguk viewed another special bulletin, regarding said couple that'd been escorted out of his apartment building the evening before.

_"The following is an update on last night's disturbance in living block 5J. Health & Safety officials subdued two individuals engaged in coupling activities."_

Photos of the individuals appeared onscreen, along with their names and Stages. The man, David, had been considered a Stage 3 and, the woman, Layne, a Stage 4.

The Stages, essentially, determined a person's level of Defectiveness.

_"Both have been transported to The Defective, Emotional, Neuropathy facility--The DEN--for containment and emotional suppression treatment. The incident is an outbreak of Defective behavior. Remember, couplers are a danger to themselves and to all of us."_

_"Physical contact, touching, or displays of emotion are signs of an individual infected with S.O.S. If you see the signs, report the couplers to Health & Safety immediately. Let's do our part to contain this dangerous epidemic."_


	2. one

_"--with no sophisticated or technologically advanced materials. With no infrastructure, The Collective erected a patrolled border to contain any resurgence of chaos--"_

The audio clip for Jeongguk's current illustration was interrupted by an abrupt _thud._

"Did anybody see that?" Leonard asked the room of workers, who appeared just as confused as Jeongguk did, as they glanced up from their workstations to listen to their boss.

"See what?" one worker asked, before they eventually turned around to be met with the sight of a man, splayed out on the ground outside, lifeless and unmoving.

The entire group moved to stand near the windows then, so Jeongguk curiously joined them and, once he'd quickly discerned what had taken place, he felt an odd sensation within his ribcage.

It felt almost hollow, like his lungs had shriveled up and his heart had turned to dust, as he took in the image of the man, lying within a steadily growing pool of his own blood in the grass.

"That's unfortunate," one of his co-workers quietly commented.

"He's already dead. Anyone recognize him?" Leonard asked.

"Not sure," they said.

"Don't think so," said another, while Jeongguk silently shook his head, finding it hard to look away.

"That's our first jumper in a while," Rachel pointed out, before someone in the back of the group coldly added, "his head was no match for that concrete."

"I just remembered, there was a suicide in my building last night," Leonard casually thought aloud. "A woman slit her throat."

"I hope they find someone to cover his work," Kate said, at which point Jeongguk found himself glancing to his right.

His gaze landed upon Taehyung, who stood at the opposite side of the room, with his fists clenched at his sides and his lips parted, as though he wanted to say something.

But, as he turned away from the windows with furrowed brows, meeting Jeongguk's gaze on his way back to his workstation, he chose to remain silent.

Jeongguk wasn't quite sure what to make of Taehyung's reaction. No one else in the room appeared bothered, or even the slightest bit affected. They treated the man outside like he was disposable because, to The Collective, they _all_ were.

But Taehyung appeared quite disheartened, _angry_ even, by the way their co-workers spoke about the incident like it was an ordinary feat. Nevertheless, they all returned to their stations and continued their work, whilst workers from The DEN collected the man's body and proceeded to sanitize the area.

**\---**

_"Even before The Demise, humankind knew the importance of space exploration. As The Collective, we prioritize it and perfect it. Now, 798 million miles away, as we brace the surface of TK14, we move one step further in our understanding of ultimate reality."_

Normally, Jeongguk's eyes would be glued to the screen up front, hooked on the wondrous footage of The Collective's hard work that was finally coming to fruition. This time, however, even as a separate voice began to announce the rocket's landing, Jeongguk's attention was focused elsewhere.

Taehyung sat in the same auditorium in Bishop Park, in a seat near the aisle, with his hands folded neatly in his lap, and the profile of his face coated in the pale blue shades of the footage they watched.

_"Okay, everybody, this is it. 3... 2... 1... mark."_

Even as the rocket was actively landing, Jeongguk had his ever-curious gaze trained on the man seated in the next section over. 

Every now and again, Taehyung would glance down at his hands in thought, before he'd return his attention to the screen, with a sigh that could be seen in the way his shoulders sagged on the exhale.

**\---**

Jeongguk thought of Taehyung when he returned home that evening.

He removed his blazer and prepared his food, the same as he would any other night, and yet, something about it just felt... _off_.

His food didn't taste the same, he had no interest in completing his next puzzle, his thoughts were racing a mile a minute, and he found himself lying awake in bed until the sun rose the following morning.

That's when Jeongguk realized there might've been something wrong with him.

**\---**

"Last, but not least; Speculative nonfiction. The title is, Inside The Peninsula," Leonard announced Jeongguk's feature during their meeting that afternoon. "Jeongguk, would you talk us through the lead illustration?"

Jeongguk, who'd been studying Taehyung's every move since the moment they all gathered for their meeting, hadn't even realized his name was mentioned.

Taehyung's head tilted the slightest bit as his eyes met Jeongguk's from the opposite side of the table.

"Jeongguk," Leonard repeated his name, just as simply as he had said it the first time.

"Sorry, Leonard," Jeongguk apologized flatly, forcing himself to tear his gaze away from the man seated across from him, as everyone else's eyes were now on him as well. "I went with the scene on The Peninsula, where The Defects huddle together for warmth. In my research, I found that they form social bonds with each other, to help alleviate something called "anxiety.""

"Very good," Leonard nodded.

"Thank you," Jeongguk replied, before directing all of his attention back onto Taehyung.

**\---**

Being unable to sleep at all the night before, Jeongguk found himself falling asleep immediately after dinner that night.

His puzzle pieces remained cold and untouched upon the tabletop in the corner of the apartment, whilst he was leaned up against the armrest of his couch, snoozing away there, rather than in his bed.

As he slept, however, he experienced something he never had before.

Jeongguk had a dream, a _terrible_ dream--something he'd soon find out was actually called a _nightmare_ \--where he was standing upon the roof of the main _Atmos_ building. 

He stepped right up to the ledge, stared down at the grass several stories below and, when he promptly stepped over the edge, Jeongguk was instantaneously jolted awake.

Completely unaware of the fact that it was just a dream, Jeongguk sprung up off the couch cushion and broke into a full sprint across the apartment, before he came face to face with the wall at the far side of it.

Jeongguk doubled over for a moment, bringing a hand up to his brow bone, which he'd just unintentionally smacked against the wall, while he simultaneously attempted to make sense of what'd just happened.

One second, he was jumping off the roof, the next he was asleep in his apartment.

Though, there was only one thing he knew for certain.

Something was most definitely wrong with him.

**\---**

_"While scientists are making great strides in understanding this debilitating condition, a reliable cure for S.O.S. has yet to be found, and most S.O.S. sufferers will experience complete emotional disability in as little as four to six months."_

Jeongguk tried his best to ignore the voice that spoke throughout the waiting room at the Health & Safety clinic, but it was difficult to do so, considering the massive screen in front of him that showcased all of the spoken information.

_"Prior to eventual containment at The DEN, Kappa Rho Inhibitors offer a reliable means of dampening symptoms and slowing the Stages of the disease."_

"What Stage?"

"Excuse me?" Jeongguk politely replied to the man seated beside him.

"What Stage are you?" he repeated.

"Oh, I'm just here for a check up. Strictly precautionary."

"I'm Jonas," the man introduced himself.

"Jeongguk," he nodded. "What Stage are you?"

"Two," Jonas answered with a half-smile.

"You look healthy," Jeongguk thought aloud, causing Jonas' smile to momentarily grow a little wider.

"Well, I have my good days and my bad days..."

Jeongguk nodded understandingly, despite the fact that he couldn't quite understand, before a nurse was calling his name.

"Jeongguk?"

"Good luck," Jonas wished him.

"Thank you," Jeongguk told him, before he pushed himself out of his seat and followed the nurse into another plain, white room.

**\---**

"The ground was rushing toward me," Jeongguk described his dream, "I couldn't breathe... I felt like my stomach was... in my _mouth_. I-It was _extremely_ unpleasant."

"You had a nightmare, Jeongguk," the doctor informed him.

"I never want to experience anything like it again..."

"How long have you had these symptoms?"

"Maybe three days?" Jeongguk answered honestly. "No longer than that."

"I'm going to take some blood now," the man said, rolling toward him in his desk chair with a small, metallic, pen-like instrument in his hand. "Can you give me your hand, please, Jeongguk?" he asked.

So Jeongguk raised his left forearm, whereupon the doctor quickly held the metal to his wrist and pressed the button at the opposite end, injecting a needle into his flesh, in order to take a sample of his blood.

The doctor then watched, as the lights at the end of the instrument blinked bright red.

"Your test is positive, Jeongguk," the man informed him. "You're only Stage 1."

Jeongguk's lips parted with the information, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but his brain immediately attempted to come up with some sort of reasoning.

"A woman in my office recently gave birth to a Defect. I..." Jeongguk shook his head. "I couldn't have caught it from her... not if she's clean, right?"

"Even if this woman did have S.O.S, it isn't contagious," the doctor assured him. "I'd like to start you on a full course of Inhibitors immediately. There's no reason why you shouldn't be able to live a normal life... at least, for a while."

"Then, The DEN..." Jeongguk presumed.

"You mustn't think about that for now. The DEN is a long way off for you. A cure is right around the corner."


	3. two

****

**NAME:** _Jeongguk  
_ **OCCUPATION:** _Illustrator  
_ **DESTINATION:** _Atmos_

**[STAGE 1]** _  
_

**\---**

"Where were you, Jeongguk?" asked the woman who worked at the station beside his own.

"I went to the cafeteria to drink some tea," Jeongguk lied, as he didn't wish to disclose his Defectiveness to those he worked with, out of fear of judgment.

"Is that where you got the bruise?" she asked curiously.

"No," Jeongguk answered. "Last night, in tai chi class, the man next to me accidentally struck me."

"Jeongguk, you weren't in tai chi class last night," said Mark, the man who worked at the station directly in front of his.

"Yes he was," Taehyung cut in, leading Jeongguk to crane his head and look back at him. "I saw him."

Jeongguk just stared at him for a moment, with a question in his eyes that Taehyung chose to ignore, as he simply carried on past Jeongguk's workstation to reach his own, with an unreadable expression.

**\---**

"What's that?" Iris asked Taehyung at lunch that day.

Jeongguk didn't intend to eavesdrop, but he glanced up from his plate of food to watch Taehyung gently trap a small insect against the table within his drinking glass.

"It's a bumblebee," Taehyung answered quietly, watching it walk along the rim of his glass in an attempt to find a way out.

"Careful," Iris warned him, as he slowly slid the glass toward himself. "Don't they sting?"

"According to the laws of aerodynamics, they shouldn't even fly," Taehyung said thoughtfully. "But they don't know it... so they fly anyway."

He lifted his glass, allowing the bumblebee to soar into the air, whereupon Iris turned back to her meal, and Jeongguk watched Taehyung's eyes follow the bee around until it became too far gone to see.

Then, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again, only to be met with the concerned expression Jeongguk wore in that moment.

So, Taehyung stood from his seat at the table and silently made his leave.

**\---**

_"Be a part of the solution by taking your Inhibitors,"_ a familiar robotic voice announced that night, as Jeongguk stood in line at the pharmacy to pick up his prescription. _"Your health is the health of The Collective."_

"Picking up," Jeongguk informed the woman behind the glass, before he raised his wrist to the scanner beside it.

With the confirmation of his identity, the woman slid him a pair of sunglasses and a small bottle, full of Inhibitor pills.

At home, while Jeongguk would ordinarily be preparing his dinner, he was greeted by the same robotic voice, telling him, _"if you're watching this film, your doctor has diagnosed you with S.O.S. Switched On Syndrome. As members of The Collective, we hear a lot about Switched On Syndrome. Here is important information about how this debilitating disease will affect you, and how you can manage it responsibly before eventual containment at the Defective, Emotional, Neuropathy Facility; The DEN."_

_"Switched On Syndrome is a malfunction of the gene silencing that controls human emotions and eliminates human flaws. But in Switched On Syndrome, problem genes lose their silencing and reawaken, leading to unpredictable sensory experiences and behavioral defects."_

_"Until a cure is available, Inhibitors are the only effective means of slowing the disease's Staging, while dampening the onset of emotion. And while the causes are unknown, we do understand the disease's progression."_

_"During Stage 1--Intermittent Feeling--you will experience difficulty concentrating, depression, pain, overwhelmed feelings, impulsivity, and sensitivity to light. As the disease progresses into further Stages--Consistent Low Level Emotion, and Emotional Volatility--these symptoms will worsen."_

_"In Stage 4--Acute Behavioral Chaos--you will no longer function as a productive member of The Collective, and your doctor will prescribe containment at The DEN, where you will be provided with electro restraint, emotional suppression, and a pain-free death scenario."_

_"If you have questions about your condition, notify your doctor or Health & Safety official for immediate attention, and remember, a cure is right around the corner."_

**\---**

In the days following his diagnosis, Jeongguk found it increasingly difficult to control that hollow feeling in his ribcage.

He put on a blank expression in the eyes of the public and his co-workers, but as soon as they'd leave the room, Jeongguk would break.

He'd taken to staying at his workstation after hours, frustratedly illustrating the dark images that plagued his mind, as a means of therapy; The latest being, a drawing of himself in The DEN, strapped to a chair, with several electrodes attached to his head.

The sound of people chatting in the hallway outside led Jeongguk to hide the drawing deep within his save files, before he wiped the tears from his cheeks, and made his way into the restroom to wash up.

He sniffled quietly, but wiped his face once more, when he heard footsteps approaching the row of sinks he stood before.

"Hello, Jeongguk," Taehyung greeted him softly, completely unaware of Jeongguk's inner turmoil, as he began washing his hands in the sink beside his.

"Hello, Taehyung," Jeongguk continued to wash his hands, acting as though he hadn't a care in the world, until Taehyung finished drying his hands and inevitably left the room.

What exactly Taehyung was doing in the _Atmos_ building after hours, Jeongguk wasn't sure, but he kept an even closer eye on the man from then on.

**\---**

"Taehyung," Jeongguk interrupted the writer, who had been in the midst of recording his voice for the next feature, the following morning. "I read your article on The Harlow Nine Probe. I was wondering if you could look over my impressions."

"But you're speculative nonfiction," Taehyung answered, keeping his focus on his work, rather than choosing to meet Jeongguk's gaze.

"I switched with Leonard," Jeongguk said, leading Taehyung to pause.

"Why?" he asked after a beat of silence, to which Jeongguk quickly came up with an excuse on the spot.

"I felt like a change."

"There's a staff meeting tomorrow afternoon," Taehyung told him. "Why don't I review your work then?"

"I'd really appreciate your input at this early stage, if it's not too much trouble..." he said, so Taehyung finally looked up at him, before he took a step back from his workstation to allow Jeongguk to show his work.

"This isn't what I described," Taehyung shook his head, after he took a moment to study the rough sketch Jeongguk had presented him with.

"Isn't it?" Jeongguk hummed, a bit distractedly, as he studied Taehyung's profile like it was part of his artwork.

"Harlow Nine is a lander, not an orbiter," Taehyung informed him and, although he was clearly critiquing his work, Jeongguk felt perfectly content just listening to Taehyung's voice as he spoke to him. "Where's its robotic arm?"

"Are those for a feature?" Rachel asked, gaining Jeongguk's attention.

"Yes," he answered.

"I thought you were speculative nonfiction...?"

"I switched with Leonard," he said.

"One more thing," Taehyung said to Jeongguk then, leading Rachel to return to her station with a wary look in her cold, blue eyes. "The Eleos' landing was made on a flat surface. The way you've drawn it, it looks almost mountainous. Is there anything else I can help you with, Jeongguk?" he asked, like it pained him to do so.

Jeongguk shook his head at that. 

"Thank you for your feedback," he said, just above a whisper, making Taehyung's tired, brown eyes meet his again.

"You're welcome," he replied, just as softly, before Jeongguk returned to his station, allowing Taehyung to return to his work as well.

That night, however, after once again returning to _Atmos_ after hours, Jeongguk stepped up to Taehyung's workstation and switched it on, filling the otherwise dark and empty room with its light.

He scrolled through the list of audio files on the screen, until he came across a file from earlier that day, the same file Taehyung had been recording when Jeongguk interrupted him.

He pressed play, just to be able to hear the man's voice again.

_"It's this vastness... inaccessibility, symmetry, and the permanence of the night sky that made it a natural topic for philosophers pursuing the understanding of ultimate reality."_

**\---**

"At _Atmos_ , our past is not a relic we should leave behind," Leonard stated at their meeting the next day, "but a living creation, something to be handled. The work we do at _Atmos_ is that which links our present--"

Jeongguk unintentionally interrupted the meeting as he reached for his mug of tea, only to accidentally drop the mug and drench the front of his white suit with its contents, leading him to abruptly scoot his seat back.

"I'm so sorry," Jeongguk shook his head self-deprecatingly, as the rest of the room stared back at him.

Then, Rachel, who had been seated beside him, reached down to retrieve something from the floor between their chairs, at which point Jeongguk pursed his lips as he realized what she had in her hand.

"You dropped these," she told him, holding up the sunglasses he'd had hidden in his blazer since the day they'd been prescribed to him, thus exposing his diagnosis to the rest of their co-workers.

"Thank you," Jeongguk quickly accepted them from her, opting to slip them back into his pocket, even as everyone's eyes remained fixed on him.

"It's about time you all knew..." he confessed, staring down at the tea-covered tabletop before him. "Last week, I... tested positive for S.O.S."

Rachel and the others appeared shocked by the discovery, of course, which did nothing to help Jeongguk remain calm and collected in that moment.

"I'm Stage 1... I'm taking Inhibitors," he said, finally looking up from the table to be met with the concerned gaze of Taehyung, who always seemed to be sitting directly across from him. "Th-There is no evidence that the bug is contagious. However, if it makes you feel more comfortable, I'll wear a face mask from now on."

"Jeongguk, I'm very sorry," Leonard told him sincerely.

"How long do you have?" Kate asked him.

"It's difficult to say," he answered truthfully. 

"Is this why you stopped doing speculative nonfiction?" Rachel inquired then. 

"I don't know, Rachel... possibly..." he swallowed thickly, finding himself unable to meet Taehyung's gaze again until he finally spoke up.

"I think a face mask is a little extreme," Taehyung thought aloud, looking Jeongguk in the eye, rather than glancing around the table. "Although, I don't think he should sit with us anymore."

"And you should have your own mug," the man beside Taehyung chimed in.

"Do you all agree?" Taehyung glanced around then, but Jeongguk's eyes remained trained on him, even as their co-workers nodded and muttered their agreements.

"We cured cancer. We cured the common cold," Leonard said, "we can cure S.O.S... you're going to live, pal."

The rest nodded in agreement once more.

"Thank you all," Jeongguk nodded as well, despite the nagging feeling in his mind that there wasn't ever going to be a cure, and that he'd be suffering the same fate as all of the other Defects, soon enough.

In the meantime, they moved Jeongguk's workstation over to the corner of the room, away from everyone else.

He held onto his personalized "JK" mug a bit tighter, afraid that he may make a fool of himself by dropping this one as well, whilst he watched everyone else carry on about their work, like his deteriorating health didn't matter to them.


	4. three

"This has to stop."

Jeongguk froze in his steps, as he'd been helplessly following Taehyung around since they left work at _Atmos_ that evening.

"If it continues, I'll be forced to report you," Taehyung added flatly, having noticed Jeongguk following him for quite some time. "Do you understand?"

Jeongguk was quiet for a moment, before he bravely inquired, "you have the bug... don't you?"

"I'm clean," Taehyung said, but his hesitation was enough for Jeongguk to discern that he wasn't telling the truth.

"The day that man... jumped off the building," Jeongguk began softly, "you saw his body out the window, and you... you looked... affected..."

Taehyung's jaw set tight, and he couldn't bring himself to meet Jeongguk's gaze, until he continued.

"There have been other times, too," Jeongguk said. "I... I've been watching you. The way you look at the world... the way you experience things--"

"I'm clean," Taehyung insisted, with a look in his eyes akin to desperation.

"--it's different," Jeongguk finished his statement.

"What you're going through must be very difficult."

"If you were clean, this conversation wouldn't even be taking place," Jeongguk shook his head. "You'd have reported me already. Am I right?"

Taehyung just stared blankly in response.

"Goodnight, Jeongguk," was all he answered with.

**\---**

"Goodnight, Taehyung," Rachel bid him, shutting her workstation down after a long day of work.

"Goodnight, Rachel," he nodded politely, opting to linger a while longer, as he knew Jeongguk would be sneaking back into the workroom as soon as he'd assume everyone else to be gone.

Taehyung swallowed thickly at the quiet sound of Jeongguk's gasping, once he entered the room to discover that Taehyung was still sitting at his station.

He didn't say anything, though, in fact neither of them did, despite both of them knowing fully well that they could get in trouble just for being there after hours, let alone being there after hours _together_.

Nevertheless, Taehyung placed his palm down on the seat beside him, silently letting Jeongguk know that Taehyung was aware of his presence, before he stood from the seat altogether and made his way over to the restroom.

Jeongguk took the hint, slowly but surely wandering over to the restroom door, so as to not appear too suspicious to anyone who might've been watching them.

There was nothing and no one to be found on the inside, until Jeongguk spotted the shadows of Taehyung's shoes, moving beneath the gap of the door to one of the change rooms.

With his heartbeat thrumming away, Jeongguk hesitantly brought a shaky hand up to the handle, before he quietly let himself inside.

Taehyung stood leaning against the wall at the opposite side of the cramped space, with his eyes on Jeongguk's shoes, rather than his face, as the door closed behind him.

Both remained silent, even as Jeongguk took a slow step closer, leading Taehyung to move away from the wall just as cautiously.

Then, Jeongguk held his hand out toward Taehyung like an offering, allowing him to move at his own pace, as he raised his own shaky hand up to let his fingertips grace the warmth of Jeongguk's palm.

Their eyes met in the meantime; Taehyung's wide with fear beneath furrowed brows, while he studied Jeongguk's seemingly blank face, from the dark hair that was parted to expose a bit of his forehead, to the chapstick that made his lower lip glisten, even in the lowlight of the room.

After a short moment, however, Taehyung retracted his limb and covered his own mouth with the same hand, as if to prevent himself from saying or doing anything he might regret.

So Jeongguk carefully reached for Taehyung's wrist, to which he lowered his hand away from his face, in order to let Jeongguk softly caress his prominent cheekbone with his knuckles instead.

Taehyung instinctively gasped at the feeling of it, before he reached up to move Jeongguk's hand away.

Afraid that he'd made Taehyung uncomfortable, he began to back away, only for Taehyung to grab hold of his thumb and pull him close again.

Taehyung held onto Jeongguk's hand with both of his own then, whilst he gently rested his forehead against Jeongguk's chest, leading him to wrap his free arm around Taehyung's body. 

Jeongguk's palm was a warm comfort as it slid upward along his spine, then down and around to his waist, until Taehyung leaned away from his chest and glanced up at him, through the dark curls that hung in the way of his eyes.

"Your bruise went away..." Taehyung thought aloud.

"You noticed that?" Jeongguk asked, but it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"I've had the bug for a year and three months..." he confessed, making Jeongguk's lips part in wonder. "I didn't want to go to the doctor. I just sort of... _knew_. You know, there is really nothing anyone could do to help."

Jeongguk listened attentively as he spoke, partly because he'd never had the chance to hear the story of another Defect firsthand, but mostly because he genuinely cared to know more about Taehyung and who he was as a person.

"I was scared of the meds and... The DEN..." Taehyung sighed. "It doesn't seem fair at first... right?"

Jeongguk nodded in agreement.

"I could live with it... but every day was different and that was the hardest part. Every single time I thought I knew something or learned anything, I..." Taehyung shook his head as he tried to find the words. "I _didn't_... and I felt this guilt every time I wanted to go back to normal, like I shouldn't want that. Every day I am practicing _unbearable_ discipline and self control."

Jeongguk nodded once more, as he definitely resonated with what Taehyung was going through.

"You realize what would happen if anyone saw us in here, right now?" Taehyung asked rhetorically. "We'd go straight to The DEN... it's a _death sentence_."

Jeongguk's brows furrowed, but he carried on listening, despite how much it pained him to think about Taehyung being caught and sent to The DEN.

"One of my neighbors missed two doctor's appointments... I haven't seen him in six weeks," Taehyung said, shaking his head once more, before he quietly told Jeongguk, "we can't do this again... it can't happen, you know that. We just... we have to hold out for the cure..."

Jeongguk sighed softly at that, making Taehyung's gaze meet his once more when he requested, "will you stay in here with me a little longer?"

So Taehyung answered, "okay..." letting Jeongguk slowly walk him back into the corner of the room, until the back of his head gently came to rest against the wall.

He let himself be trapped there, long enough for Jeongguk to hesitantly lean in closer, whereupon Taehyung tilted his head back the slightest bit to let their lips gently brush together.

He released another shaky exhale when Jeongguk pulled away.

"Are you okay?" he asked, earning a quick nod from Taehyung in return.

"Yeah," he breathed, glancing between Jeongguk's eyes and lips, before he reluctantly said, "I need to go..."

**\---**

"Taehyung, are you staying late again tonight?" Rachel curiously asked him at lunch, the following afternoon.

"I'm not sure," he answered a bit distractedly, having caught Jeongguk blatantly staring at him, from where he sat eating by his lonesome at the far side of the cafeteria.

"I wish I had your kind of work ethic," Kate droned, capturing Taehyung's attention, before she informed the table, "I received a message from Zoe. On her way to work this morning, she received a conception duty summons. Could one of the illustrators present for her in the staff meeting?"

"I'll do it," Mark offered. "I'd be glad to."

**\---**

"Goodnight, Taehyung," Kate bid him simply, upon making her leave from _Atmos_ that evening.

"Goodnight, Kate," he replied, pausing the recording he'd been working on to do so. 

Then, so as to appear inconspicuous, he continued his recording, until she was finally gone.

The second the door clicked shut, Taehyung was pausing his recording once more and making his way over to the restroom, with Jeongguk hot on his tail.

They met one another within the same cramped change room, their hands immediately finding a home on the other's body, as though they weren't afraid of the consequences.

"The way you've been looking at me..." Taehyung shook his head.

"I can't help it," Jeongguk said, winding his arms around Taehyung's waist, just as his hands came to rest on Jeongguk's chest.

"I can _feel_ it..." Taehyung breathed, like the thought astounded him.

"What does it feel like?"

"I-It feels wrong..."

"No," Jeongguk shook his head as well, leading Taehyung to bring a hand up to his nape, and let his fingertips tangle in the length of Jeongguk's hair. "It's not wrong. It's completely right. This _feels_... completely right."

"I'm scared," Taehyung admitted then, with his lips mere centimeters away from Jeongguk's. "I'm so scared."

"Me, too," Jeongguk assured him. "Me, too."

Despite their fears, however, their lips met again, and again, and again.


	5. four

Jeongguk & Taehyung were able to get away with seeing each other nightly for a few more weeks.

One day, however, as they were hidden away together within the same _Atmos_ change room, the sound of a sink running right outside caused the pair to fall silent.

Any trace of the smile Taehyung was wearing a moment beforehand was diminished completely, and they were quick to distance themselves from one another, despite the fact that they hadn't actually been caught yet.

Opting against sitting around and risking being caught, Jeongguk held up an index finger, telling Taehyung to wait there, before he moved to let himself out of the room.

"Hello, Leonard," Jeongguk greeted the elderly man, upon joining him near the sinks.

"Jeongguk," he said, as though he was surprised. "I didn't expect to see you here this late."

Though, after a moment of awkward silence, filled with nothing but the sound of running water from the sinks they washed their hands in, Leonard asked, "have you thought about killing yourself?"

Jeongguk's tongue momentarily pressed against the inside of his cheek, but he shook his head and looked over at him once more, before he said, "no. That's not until Stage 3."

Then, the pair dried their hands, and Leonard promptly followed Jeongguk out of the restroom.

"Why is Taehyung's interface on?" he asked, causing Jeongguk to pause in his tracks near the door, before he turned around to find that Taehyung's station was still alight with his work. "Have you been snooping again, Jeongguk?"

"Excuse me?" Jeongguk asked.

"A month ago, Health & Safety saw you on Taehyung's interface after hours. I was told to keep an eye on you," he said, joining Jeongguk by the door with an expectant look on his wrinkled face. 

"Is there something you want to tell me?" he asked. "As the manager here at _Atmos_ , one of my duties is to maintain the safety and welfare of the team. Therefore, if I believe that someone on the team is in danger, or involved in an activity that is unsafe, I'd report him or her to Health & Safety."

Jeongguk did his best to appear blank-faced and emotionless as the man spoke to him, no matter how difficult it was.

"Unless, of course, the activity were to stop..." Leonard added after a beat. "Does that make sense to you?"

"Yes," Jeongguk answered simply.

"Good," Leonard nodded, before he gestured toward the door. "Shall we get out of here, Jeongguk?"

**\---**

The next evening, Taehyung found Jeongguk waiting for him, upon a bench on the pathway to his living block; The same area Taehyung had threatened to report him for following him around, just a few weeks before.

Taehyung had waited for him in the _Atmos_ change room, but eventually took the hint and left when Jeongguk didn't show.

"He knows..." Jeongguk told him when he sat down on the opposite end of the bench.

"What are we gonna do?" Taehyung asked rhetorically, leading the pair to glance at one another with worrisome expressions, before he looked away and said, "we have to stay away from each other."

"I can't... stay away from you," Jeongguk shook his head at that. "I can't... _not_ be around you. Not in that office. Not when I see you everyday. It's _impossible_..."

Taehyung was silent, but his heart skipped a beat with Jeongguk's words, despite the severity of the situation at hand.

"I've thought about it. The best thing is for me to leave _Atmos_... get a job somewhere else," Jeongguk decided, leading Taehyung's heart to sink to the ground instead. "It's like you said... we have to hold on for the cure. That's all we should be thinking about."

Taehyung couldn't bring himself to say what he was _actually_ thinking in that moment, but Jeongguk seemed pretty set in his decision to leave _Atmos_ \--to leave _him_ \--and Taehyung wasn't so sure he'd be able to hide his emotions as easily if Jeongguk were to break his heart.

"Taehyung?" Jeongguk tilted his head, wanting to know what the man thought of his decision, but he wasn't going to hear it.

Rather than choosing stay seated and tear his walls down, in an attempt to persuade Jeongguk to change his mind--walls he'd been working so hard to keep from crumbling--Taehyung simply stood from the bench and made his way home, without looking back once.

**\---**

"Are you sure this is what you want?" asked the woman at the Employment desk.

"I'm sure," Jeongguk replied flatly.

"Positions at _Atmos_ are highly coveted. Once we place you--"

"I understand," Jeongguk nodded, putting on a half-smile so as to appear unbothered. "Because of my diagnosis, I think a work environment where I interact less with others would be better... for everyone's benefit."

"That's a very responsible attitude," she said, as though she was impressed.

**\---**

"Oh, Taehyung," Leonard greeted him upon his arrival at work the next morning. "Meet Dominic, our new illustrator."

Taehyung's lips parted when the young man beside Leonard turned to face him.

"Dominic, this is Taehyung," Leonard introduced the two of them. "He works in text. You'll be interpreting his words."

"It's very nice to meet you, Taehyung," Dominic nodded once.

"Welcome to _Atmos_ ," Taehyung told him, barely managing a convincingly flat expression in response.

**\---**

"I also design rockets," Dominic droned on and on to their group at lunch time. "I could have been an engineer, but I lacked patience. I think working at _Atmos_ is a vitally important job. Science is a process and often leads to dead ends. But here, we're delivering the answers. We're educating people."

Taehyung unintentionally paused in his movements as he'd been cutting his meal into bite-sized portions, finding the new guy to be considerably more annoying than anyone else he'd ever had to work with.

"Knowledge is sacred, and _Atmos_ is the new scripture," Dominic declared. "If you think about it, we're kind of like preachers."

"Where did you study?" Mark asked him curiously.

"I'm self-taught," Dominic boasted. "I've always drawn pictures, ever since I was a child. One of my guardians, Barnabas, nicknamed me Little da Vinci."

"Did you hear?" Rachel asked, distracting the others from Dominic by telling them, "Zoe was inseminated."

"It means she's clean. She didn't catch the bug from Jeongguk," Mark nodded, leading Taehyung to slowly set his silverware down. "That means we're probably clean, too."

"I'm definitely clean," Dominic quickly assured them. "I donated blood last week."

**\---**

"Jeongguk," a familiar voice called out, upon spotting him leaving the window at the pharmacy that night.

"J-Jonas," Jeongguk nodded respectfully as the man approached him.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Okay..." Jeongguk shrugged.

"Do you want to take a walk?"

**\---**

"I miss him..." Jeongguk sighed, as he sat beside Jonas in the empty auditorium. "I dunno. It felt so good to be around him that... we were nearly tripping up, and I couldn't... I couldn't see anything bad happening to him."

"You two are in love with each other," Jonas easily discerned from what Jeongguk had told him of Taehyung as they were walking. "That's very clear. You were right to end it, though. I think dealing with this disease on your own is hard enough... coupling would just make it _unbearable_."

Jeongguk nodded, despite the weight on his shoulders, and that hollow feeling in his chest.

"You know... about a year ago," Jonas began, "I also made a connection... with a woman. Though, it didn't end well."

"I'm so sorry..." Jeongguk bid him sincerely, once he realized why the woman was no longer around, earning a pursed-lipped smile and a somber shrug from the man in return.

"Your friend, what uh... what Stage is he?"

"Oh, he's self-diagnosed," Jeongguk answered. "He's been fighting the bug without drugs."

"He's a Hider," Jonas nodded understandingly, but with a stressful sigh, he said, "not many people can do that successfully. I think Hiders are... I think they're wired differently. We have one in our group. Bess. She's a... she's a doctor at The DEN, of all places."

Jeongguk's brows raised with the information, as he couldn't imagine what it must've been like to be a Hider, working in the place where all of the other Defects were essentially sent to die.

"I'm part of a group," Jonas told him. "A support group, with Bess and others from my work... to talk openly about how we feel. If you're interested, I'd vouch for you. It might help."

Jeongguk nodded once more, thinking it over for a moment, before he decided, "I'd be willing to try..."

"Great," Jonas nodded as well.

**\---**

"Taehyung, it's me again," Dominic announced, upon joining the writer's side at his workstation. "Until you give me some text to work with I am idle, and that doesn't seem like a very good use of my time."

Taehyung took a quiet deep breath before he replied, "I'm almost finished, Dominic."

"All the other illustrators received their pieces hours ago--"

"I'm almost finished, Dominic," Taehyung repeated with a bit of bite to his tone, so he did his best to reel it in, before he added, "but I appreciate your patience."

"Of course," Dominic nodded, leaving Taehyung to his work.

**\---**

The following night, after completing his first week of work in the Botany division, Jeongguk followed Jonas' directions to meet with the support group.

Anxious about what was to come, Jeongguk bit into his lower lip in the descending elevator, before he stepped out and sauntered down a hallway, lined with storage room doors.

Behind the fifth door on the left, a group of other Defects sat chatting amongst one another about nothing in particular, as they patiently awaited their newest member.

"Jeongguk," Jonas' face lit up when he noticed the younger man entering the room. "You made it. This is great. I'm glad you're here. Everybody, this is Jeongguk, the one I was telling you about."

Jeongguk offered a timid smile and a nod of his head to the others, who glanced back at him with a variety of different reactions; Some appearing more inviting than others.

"Jeongguk, this is Bess, Peter, and Thomas," Jonas gestured to one side of the room. "Gilead, Max, and Alice," he gestured to the other. "Come take a seat."

**\---**

"After lunch, he just kept staring at me, like he could tell I wasn't taking my meds..." Thomas sighed, as they all sat in a circle together around the room, talking with one another about their most recent struggles as Defects living in The Collective, "and I wanted to say something to him. But then I thought, wh-what if I'm just imagining it? So I turned and walked away... and all I could think is that he _knows_ , he's gonna _report me_ , and I'm gonna get caught. I can't stop thinking that... _all the time_."

"It's natural," Gilead assured him. "It's happened to every one of us."

"Yes, but all I could think is that I'm going to The DEN... I'm going to The DEN. It's over, and they're..." Thomas shook his head with another sigh.

"What happens in The DEN?" Jeongguk asked quietly, leading the others to glance at one another with reluctance painted upon each of their faces, for none of them wished to be the bearer of bad news.

"Half the people who are brought in commit suicide," Bess spoke up then, seeing as no one else did. "The staff encourages it and stand by while it happens."

"And that's the preferable option anyway," Gilead thought aloud, "compared to electro restraints and all the other methods of treatment."

"But there is value in living," Bess added. "Being a Hider reminds you of that."

"I still don't know how you do it," Thomas shook his head at her in astonishment. "Working for Health & Safety is hard enough."

"Yes, it's difficult to see things and not be moved," Bess nodded in agreement. "But that's what being a Hider is all about. So you do small things to help. Just looking someone in the eyes can make them feel they are not alone... give them hope. But under _no_ _circumstances_ do you interfere."

Jeongguk swallowed thickly as she looked at him then.

"You have to tell yourself, do not risk your _job_ , do not risk your _life_."

"B-But why stay in a position where you feel so much risk?" Jeongguk curiously inquired. "You could ask to be reassigned."

"I'd rather be with people who _feel_ ," Bess answered truthfully, "people who feel _intensely_... it reminds me of who I am and why I choose to keep on living. Everybody says it's not contagious... but after all these years, as awful as it is, every day I feel a stronger... _affinity_ with other people."

"See, I don't believe in all the research," Gilead shook his head. "Feelings engender feelings. S.O.S. is not even a disease. That's what they say, but "switched off" is something they do to us between conception and birth. S.O.S. is who we _really_ are, and... the Inhibitors are just another attempt to squash that."

"I don't know..." Thomas shrugged. "It is so _hard_. It's lonely. At least with the Inhibitors, I can get by, but now... I would rather feel _nothing_. _Nothing_ is better than _this_."


	6. five

When Jeongguk sat down to eat dinner in his apartment, after his first meeting with the support group, he could feel something guiding his attention toward his front door.

He didn't know what exactly it was, considering nothing and nobody was actually there to push him out of his seat and onto his feet, but nevertheless, he slowly moved to the door and, when he finally opened it, Taehyung was the last person he expected to see standing on the other side.

He met Jeongguk's eyes for all of about a second, before his gaze fell to the floor and his hands began to shake, as he considered bolting.

Before he could manage to do so, however, Jeongguk reached for his shoulder and quickly ushered him into his apartment, being quick to close the door behind them so as to not alert his neighbors.

Taehyung faced the windows for a moment, unable to think of any logical reason for his needing to see Jeongguk at this hour, especially after the man had ripped his heart to pieces just a few days beforehand.

So Jeongguk watched him, unsure of what to say or do other than wait for Taehyung to move first. That's when Taehyung turned around, marched right up to Jeongguk, and shoved him back as hard as he could manage.

Jeongguk stumbled a bit, but as Taehyung brought his hands up to hit Jeongguk's chest, he reached for Taehyung's fists and attempted to bring him into his embrace.

Taehyung tried to fight it, struggling to break free as Jeongguk turned him back around and wrapped his arms around his shoulders instead, in order to hold onto him no matter how many times Taehyung tried to smack his hands away.

"It's okay. It's okay," Jeongguk whispered to him, closing his eyes and remaining calm, even as Taehyung began to sob in his arms. "It's okay, shh..." he quietly shushed him. "It's okay."

Still, Taehyung cried whilst Jeongguk guided him down onto the floor, sinking down against the wall with the trembling man, before he moved to kneel before him instead.

He brushed Taehyung's hair out of his eyes and cupped his tear-soaked face in his hands, which only made him cry even harder when Jeongguk leaned in to kiss him, despite the way Taehyung helplessly sobbed between each press of his lips against his own.

"It's okay," Jeongguk whispered against his lips and thumbed his tears away, even if they continued to stream down his blood-reddened cheeks.

Like a switch had been flipped, Taehyung pressed back a little harder when Jeongguk kissed him again. 

Then, he brought his hands up to Jeongguk's shoulders and dug his blunt nails into the fabric of his blazer, which led Jeongguk to shrug it off and carelessly toss it aside, so Taehyung quickly did the same with his own.

_They were cautious enough to keep quiet, as they slowly undressed and drank in the sight and feeling of one another's bodies for the first time, but the rush of adrenaline they'd get whenever they thought about being caught would make them pick up the pace a bit._

_They got quite messy as well, building up a thin layer of sweat over their entirety, just as their hair was ruffled, and their skin was marked and scratched, in their eager attempts to feel closer to one another._

_Taehyung's name was whispered like a secret from Jeongguk's lips, once his pants were gone, and he could feel himself throbbing with need in Taehyung's spit-slick palm. But once he was actually inside of him, Jeongguk found it even more difficult to keep quiet, even with the way Taehyung clasped a gentle hand over his mouth to prevent him from crying out._

_"Mm~" he'd whine and moan against Taehyung's fingers, each time he'd bounce in Jeongguk's lap, which was also making it a lot harder for Taehyung to remain quiet._

_Regardless, neither of them lasted very much longer--for obvious reasons--and they didn't even care. The only thing that mattered to them, in that moment, was being there with one another on a level so intimate and so euphoric, it took both of them some time to come back down to Earth once they were finished._

"I could never have imagined what love felt like," Jeongguk admitted, with his head propped up in his hand, as he lay on his side with Taehyung, amongst the mess they made of their discarded clothes on the floor. "It's strange... like a little tornado going around."

"Yeah," Taehyung giggled at that, and Jeongguk's smile absentmindedly widened with the adorable sound of it. "That's why I was so scared of it at first. It's about _giving_... like, I-I want you to take _everything_ from me. I don't even know what it is, I just want you to... _take it from me_."

"I just wanna... I wanna _run_ ," Jeongguk said, earning an equally fond little grin from Taehyung. "I wanna run... both of us, just--as fast as we can, outside. Just take off."

Taehyung's smile faltered a bit, so Jeongguk attempted to explain his reasoning.

"It's so weird. I'm like--" Jeongguk shook his head thoughtfully, before he stressfully wiped his face with his free hand. "I keep on thinking about--ever since we were kids, it's been drilled into us that our purpose is to explore the universe, you know... that outer space is where we'll find the answers to why we're here and where we come from."

Taehyung's soft brown eyes trailed downward to the red marks he'd left upon the flesh of Jeongguk's pecs as he listened to him, just as he raised his hand up to trace his fingertips over Jeongguk's bruised skin.

"It's like everyone's... searching for these answers, 800 million miles away, when the truth is... the answers are right in front of us," Jeongguk said, making Taehyung meet his gaze once more. 

"I know why I'm here," Jeongguk told him because it didn't take a rocket scientist, nor a trip to outer space, for him to know that everything happens for a reason, and that he was put on the planet to love the man before him.

"Me, too," Taehyung whispered just as seriously.

He'd known since the day he first met Jeongguk after hours at _Atmos_ , that the younger man would be the only person he would ever love, just as he was the only person Taehyung had ever even _considered_ risking The DEN for.

"What are we gonna do now?" he asked just as softly.

"We just spend as much time here together as we can," Jeongguk figured, reaching his free hand up to hold Taehyung's against his chest, "go to work, act normal... but at night, we're together."

Taehyung couldn't fight the smile that returned to his face if he tried.

"Okay."

**\---**

"What did you look like when you were little?" Taehyung asked Jeongguk one night, as they lay on the couch together in his apartment. "Have you always had these freckles?" he hummed, fondly thumbing over the small dot beneath Jeongguk's lower lip.

"I think so," Jeongguk answered, before asking a question of his own, "did you grow early?"

"Did I grow early?" Taehyung smiled at that. "Yeah, I was tall until I wasn't."

"Yeah?" Jeongguk smiled as well, basking in the feeling of being there with Taehyung, feeling his comforting weight and warmth, as he lay between Jeongguk's legs with his head on his chest. "I was a little round kid."

With that, Taehyung's laugh had Jeongguk's heart swelling between his lungs.

"What was your favorite subject?"

"I liked history," Jeongguk answered. "How about you?"

"I... I always really loved to write."

"What did you write when you were a kid?"

"I always liked to write poetry," Taehyung sheepishly admitted, but he let his eyes flutter shut when Jeongguk moved his hand up to his nape, in order to card his fingertips through his dark curls.

"I liked those school trips as well," Jeongguk added. "When we got to go to The Great War Museum... to see how the bombs dropped and wiped out all the cities and stuff. I see a future outside of this room... some place out there in the vastness of everything we know... in all those millions of miles."

Jeongguk sighed then, leading Taehyung to open his eyes and look at him once more.

"I wish I could explain this to everyone else," Jeongguk said sadly. "I'm sick of being scared of getting caught. I want people to know and... _not_ think we're sick..."

**\---**

_"This significant breakthrough came with the isolation of the bulbar cell line, allowing effective genetic re-silencing, without triggering the systematic organ malfunction that had marked earlier attempts,"_ the typical robotic voice announced over the loudspeakers one morning, as everyone was making their way to work.

_"To be clear, this is not another Kappa Rho Inhibitor. It's a cure that restores the health and systematic order to the individual. With the Ashby ENI cure, it is only a matter of time before all current S.O.S. cases are treated, and future cases prevented."_

_"The ENI cure is injected directly into the neck, leaving a small, coin-like scar; A quick and simple procedure. Once administered, the drug requires a six hour absorption period, before the disease is completely neutralized. After which point, regardless of Stage, the patient is restored to normal health."_

_"Mass production of the drug is already underway, and shipments are being made available to public clinics immediately. Individuals diagnosed with S.O.S. need not suffer another day. Contact your doctor immediately to receive the Ashby ENI cure, and rejoin the ranks of equals."_

**\---**

"We're gonna remember this feeling," Taehyung said, as he sat with Jeongguk in his apartment that evening. "We're gonna live every day _remembering_ , but we're not gonna _feel it_... we're not even gonna _exist_ anymore."

"No," Jeongguk shook his head at that, but Taehyung didn't respond, so he reached to gently turn his head. 

"No," he repeated, looking Taehyung directly in the eye as he did so. "It's not over. We're not doing that."

"So you don't want the cure...?" Taehyung asked, just above a whisper.

"No," Jeongguk answered immediately. "Do you?"

"No."

**\---**

That same night, Jeongguk held Taehyung's hand in the elevator, then down the lengthy hallway to reach the storage room, where his support group always met.

"This is Taehyung," he announced to the others, once they'd all craned their heads to see who Jeongguk had brought with him. "We want to go to The Peninsula."

They appeared quite concerned by his statement, but they welcomed the pair into their circle, at which point Jonas began to explain what he knew of The Peninsula.

"At my old post, I took part in an air patrol. We wouldn't fly directly over The Peninsula, but... I could see it, from a distance. It's totally overgrown," Jonas said, leading Taehyung & Jeongguk to miss the way the rest of them stared at their hands, which were laced together upon Jeongguk's lap. "If anyone actually lives there, it's in a completely primitive state."

"How do we get there?" Jeongguk asked.

"You're seriously considering this?" Bess asked quietly.

"We've already decided," he said determinedly.

"You know, you'll be on your own out there..." she said, with nothing short of concern in her eyes and voice. "There will be no one to look after you."

"Whatever we go through, it'll be together," Taehyung nodded, despite the wary feeling in his gut. 

"I know how you're feeling," Bess assured them, "but you're not thinking of all the risks."

"If we stay here, we'll be found out. We'll get the cure," Taehyung replied, earning an understanding nod from the elderly woman in return.

"You know, it was many years ago... I was not much older than you are now, when I got the bug," she said. "No one even knew what S.O.S. was back then. People were getting it, and most of them would commit suicide. There was a young man in my living block... I could tell he was a Hider, just like me, but no one dared mention it back then."

"One night, he knocked on my door and told me that he and two others were going to The Peninsula, and he wanted me to go with them. Of course, there was _no way_ I was going," she shook her head, "I knew they were headed for their deaths."

"Bess..." Jonas sighed at her side.

"The few months after he left were the loneliest I've ever felt..." Bess continued. "We'd only spoken that one time. More than all of the suicides I've seen, it was _his_ death that was the most... unnecessarily _wasteful_. Such a _waste_. That was a new feeling for me."

"But... you don't know if he died," Taehyung said softly and, with an apologetic expression, he asked, "what if he didn't?"

Bess couldn't seem to find any words after that, so Jonas reached to place a supportive hand on her shoulder, as he told Taehyung & Jeongguk, "I can talk to my old colleague. He was the pilot who took us on the air patrol."

"If they get caught," Thomas spoke up, "the whole plan could be traced back to you or to the group." 

Then, to Bess, he added, "you said interfering was too risky."

"If you make this decision, you know there is no turning back," Jonas told the couple seriously. "If you _do_ manage to get out, you can never return."

"Yes," Jeongguk nodded. "Of course."


	7. six

"When you get to the border, ask for Oliver," Jonas told Jeongguk, just a few days after their last support group meeting. "He'll fly you."

"What if he gets caught?" Jeongguk asked, inconspicuously staring out at the cloudy horizon, over the railing of a skybridge in the Botany division.

"He won't," Jonas assured him, before he sincerely added, "good luck."

"Thank you," Jeongguk graciously nodded, leading Jonas to make his leave, with the ghost of a hopeful smile on his face.

**\---**

"Welling is the closest station to the border," Jeongguk said, as he and Taehyung discussed their imminent departure from The Collective. "Trains don't go there until the weekend. I checked the schedule. We could leave on Saturday."

Taehyung nodded understandingly as he thought aloud, "three days," and with his hand tangled tight with Jeongguk's, they were both able to feel just how anxious they were about their plan.

"You're shaking," Jeongguk whispered.

"So are _you_ ," Taehyung chuckled softly, subconsciously squeezing Jeongguk's hand a bit tighter as he did so.

"Are you sure?" Jeongguk asked him after a moment.

"Yes," Taehyung answered without hesitation. "Are you?"

Jeongguk's grin widened with that. "Yeah," he said, to which Taehyung let go of his hand and wrapped his arms around Jeongguk's neck to hug him instead.

**\---**

_The next day, the couple moved throughout their usual daily routine with the thrill of anticipation in their veins, but it was quickly cut short when Taehyung attempted to board the train to work._

_He held his wrist over the scanner, as he'd done thousands of times before without problem, but the screen didn't light up in the same way it always had._

**NAME:** _Taehyung_  
 **OCCUPATION:** _Writer_

**[SUMMONED FOR CONCEPTION]**

_That was when a worker from Health & Safety approached him, with news that would surely cause a setback in his plans to leave with Jeongguk that weekend._

"I got a conception summons..." Taehyung said to Jeongguk, after he'd silently panicked the entire way from the subway to the Botany division.

"We're leaving in two days," Jeongguk replied. "By the time they come looking for you, we'll be gone. Ignore it."

"My tag is blocked," Taehyung's voice wavered a bit. "I won't be able to get on the train. I won't make it through any of the checkpoints."

Jeongguk quickly attempted to think of a solution to their problem, but he couldn't, and that frustrated him to no end.

"Well, look, it's just a _summons_ , right?" he asked rhetorically. "It's not like they're gonna inseminate you..."

"They'll check my blood," Taehyung shook his head. "They'll see I have the disease instantly."

"Yeah, but they can't force you to get the cure," Jeongguk shook his head as well. "I've been diagnosed, and no one's forcing me to get it, are they? Besides, the clinics are overwhelmed right now."

Taehyung nodded understandingly, but the wary look in his eyes told Jeongguk that his worries were far from dissipated.

"All that's going to happen is, they'll tell you you've tested positive for S.O.S. and that you should see your doctor immediately," Jeongguk calmly explained. "That's it. Then, get out of there."

Taehyung nodded once more, feeling a bit of the overbearing weight on his shoulders beginning to lighten.

"Nothing's changed," Jeongguk promised him. "We're leaving Saturday. Ten o'clock train. You've already missed the whole morning of work. You should get over there right away. I'll come after my shift. Meet me behind the clinic."

Taehyung sighed softly, but agreed nevertheless, "okay..."

**\---**

Taehyung sat anxiously waiting, dressed in a pale blue hospital gown, upon an examination table in the Health & Safety clinic.

"Hello, Taehyung," a woman in a lab coat greeted him, after briefly knocking on the door and crossing the threshold.

"Hello, doctor," Taehyung replied, eyeing the needle in her hands with his jaw set tight.

"Lie back for me, please," she requested, so Taehyung lifted his feet up onto the paper-covered cushion of the table and slowly reclined, until he was staring up at the boringly white ceiling above them. "I'm going to take a sample of your blood, okay?"

"Okay," Taehyung breathed, keeping his eyes trained on the ceiling, as she held the needle up to his wrist and quickly injected it.

Afterward, the lights at the end of the instrument began to blink red, leading the doctor to press the button at the end of it again, just to be sure there wasn't any sort of mistake.

"I have the bug... don't I?" Taehyung asked after a moment, having mentally prepared himself to be professionally diagnosed with S.O.S, but he hadn't been _at all_ prepared for what she told him next.

"Taehyung, you're _pregnant_..."

**\---**

Jeongguk waited for Taehyung, as patiently as he could manage, behind the clinic.

However, as time went on and he began to get antsy, Jeongguk reached for the door handles to go inside, only to be met with the sight of Taehyung with his biceps trapped in the clutches of two Health & Safety members.

Within the time it took for them to lead Taehyung out of the building, Jeongguk's stomach once again felt as though it was in his mouth, and his entire body shook with the force of his adrenalized panic.

He remained silent, though, no matter how difficult it was, for he knew that if he wanted _any_ sort of shot at rescuing Taehyung, he would need to remain in the shadows, where he could maintain the element of surprise.

Taehyung dragged his feet, cried for help, and tried just about every other thing in the book in an attempt to break free, but it was no use. They brought him straight to The DEN, where several guards met them at the front gates of the fenced-in building.

The DEN workers took over from there.

They re-dressed him in another hospital gown and forced him down into a wheelchair, before they strapped his arms to the armrests, and whisked him off to a concrete holding cell for the time being.

Meanwhile, after speaking with the woman at the front desk of the clinic, Jeongguk's jaw dropped when he discovered the reasoning behind Taehyung being escorted out of the building. 

Then, he rushed to locate the first member of his support group that he could find; Gilead was quick to notify Jonas of Taehyung's arrival at The DEN, once Jeongguk quickly filled him in, as he worked alongside Jonas in Health & Safety.

So Jonas immediately moved to meet Jeongguk in the auditorium, where Gilead said he would be waiting.

"What is it?" Jonas asked confusedly, when he was finally within earshot of Jeongguk.

"He's pregnant," Jeongguk said quietly, with wide eyes and a shaky voice. "He got called for conception duty, and they found out, and they're--"

"Jeongguk, calm down."

"They're taking him to The DEN," Jeongguk shook his head. "They're taking him to The DEN!"

"You need to calm down," Jonas replied, just as calmly as before, despite how disheartened he was by the news.

"I'm calm," Jeongguk said, more so in an attempt to reassure himself than anyone else. "I'm calm. It's fine. What are we gonna do?"

"When did they take him?"

"I don't know, about an hour ago or something," Jeongguk answered, stressfully running his fingers through his hair.

"Alright, well, listen. I will contact Bess."

"No, no," Jeongguk shook his head at that. "Not Bess. She won't help us. Ask someone else."

"There is no one else," Jonas shook his head as well, with a somber expression that told Jeongguk that he wished he could do more to help them, but, "Bess is our only hope."

"No. There's gotta be--"

"Listen," Jonas sighed. "You can't be seen around here like this."

"I'm fine. Let me come with you. Let me help him--"

"You need to _go home_ ,and you need to _calm down_ ," Jonas insisted, taking a moment to glance around and make sure no one else was around to see Jeongguk panicking. "Go home and I will contact you. Wait there."

"I can say something to them. Let me go with you," Jeongguk begged, but Jonas shook his head sternly.

" _Don't_ attempt to see Taehyung. Jeongguk, _go home_. Trust me."

Then, Jeongguk's voice broke when he asked, "what are they gonna do to him?" as he felt completely helpless.

"Just calm down," Jonas reached for the younger man's shoulders in an attempt to console him. "You need to stay calm, or they'll give you the cure. Give me a couple of hours. Go home and wait there."

So Jeongguk took a deep breath, looked the man in the eye, and invested all of his trust in him, before he reluctantly turned to make his way home.

**\---**

Having watched the other workers drag Taehyung through the halls of The DEN the evening before, Bess nervously waited until early the next morning to sneak into the room Taehyung was being held in.

He laid there, strapped to a metal table, with an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, administering an anesthetic that would keep him unconscious, until it came time for him to receive whatever barbaric form of "containment" they had planned for him.

Bess quickly put a stop to it, by overriding the commands set in place on the computer at the foot of the table, thus releasing Taehyung from the facility's database, before she moved to undo the straps that restrained him.

Taehyung slowly regained consciousness, once Bess carefully removed the oxygen mask from his face, but she was quick to press her index finger to her lips before he could speak.

"Shh," she shushed him, so his parted lips obediently closed, while she helped him down from the table and into another wheelchair.

Then, Bess wheeled him down the halls, past several other unsuspecting DEN workers, and into a storage room in the lowest level of the building.

Jonas and Gilead waited there for them, whereupon they quickly unstrapped Taehyung from the chair, and his eyes widened with realization, as he finally started to come down from the anesthetic.

"Jonas?" he gasped.

"Get dressed as fast as you can, and listen to me carefully," Bess said, recapturing Taehyung's attention, as she reached for his hands and helped him up onto his feet. "Last week, a man was brought in called V. He was Stage 3. Last night, he knotted a garbage bag over his head--suffocated. He's dead."

Taehyung nodded understandingly and, despite the bitter taste in his mouth, he continued to listen as Jonas and Gilead helped him get changed back into his ordinarily white clothes.

"Now, you are gonna switch places with him," Bess informed him. "V didn't kill himself last night, _you_ did. You are _V_ , he was _you_. You're gonna walk out of here. Just hold out your arm. Your left arm, please."

Taehyung did as he was told, once his shirt sleeves were in place, at which point Bess let him squeeze her hand as hard as he needed, whilst Jonas held a familiar metal instrument to his wrist.

With the click of the button at the end, Taehyung's face scrunched up with the pain of his identity tag being removed from his flesh and replaced with the tag of the deceased man--V--once Gilead injected it for him.

"You are V," Bess reiterated, "got it?"

So Taehyung nodded once more, and Jonas asked if they were, "ready?" before he moved to the door and quickly made sure the coast was clear.

Then, he gestured for the others to follow him out of the storage room, and into the hallway, where he quietly told Taehyung, "I told Jeongguk to wait at his apartment. You'll find him there."

As they approached the front doors of the building, however, Gilead and Jonas distanced themselves from Taehyung and Bess, who continued on through the doors and out to the gates.

Once Taehyung was finally free, he glanced back at Bess with a gracious expression, which she returned in the form of a kind-hearted smile, before he turned on his heel and broke into a full on sprint toward Jeongguk's living block.

Little did Taehyung know, that as he rushed to be reunited with his lover, Jeongguk was quickly making his way down to The DEN, having grown far too impatient after waiting up the entire night through for any sort of update on the situation.

 _"The following message is an update on the security breach at The DEN,"_ Jeongguk paused in his tracks when he heard the announcement over the loudspeakers. _"The Collective wishes to congratulate Health & Safety official, ID: 22564943, who alerted authorities to three individuals operating against protocol at The DEN."_

Jeongguk could physically feel rage and betrayal building up inside of him, as he looked at the screen on the wall, to find that Thomas--one of his support group members--had been the one to report the breach.

_"Two of the three were Health & Safety officials, and the third was a physician at The DEN. All are currently safe and receiving the Ashby ENI cure, so that they may return to work as productive equals in The Collective. The ENI cure will now be required for all those diagnosed with, or suffering from, S.O.S, and mandatory S.O.S. testing will begin immediately, for all Health & Safety officials, as well as medical professionals."_

**\---**

"His name is Taehyung," Jeongguk told the guard working near the gates of The DEN. "His ID tag is 34729647. He writes text for _Atmos_."

"You said his name was Taehyung?" the guard asked, turning his attention toward the computer terminal beside the gate.

"Yes."

"Was he brought here yesterday evening? Lives at 6L, 415?"

"That's right," Jeongguk nodded affirmatively.

"He died last night," the guard informed him, leading Jeongguk's brows to furrow in confusion. "According to the doctor's notes, the cause of death was asphyxiation."

"C-Could you..." Jeongguk began to feel lightheaded when he asked, "could you check that again?"

So the man tapped a few buttons on the screen, of which Jeongguk was unable to see, before he simply nodded and said, "yes. That's him."

With the confirmation, Jeongguk's worst fear instantaneously became a reality, and he didn't know what to think or say or do in that moment, as the sole reason for his existence had apparently been snatched away from him, all whilst he was sitting at home for _hours_ , doing absolutely nothing.

"Sir?" the guard raised a brow at the way Jeongguk hadn't replied for some time. "Are you okay? Do you need some help?"

Jeongguk immediately shook his head and turned away from the gates then, wiping his face with his hands in an attempt to keep from breaking, which was something he knew was inevitable, but he couldn't risk anyone else seeing him like that.

Though, he subconsciously began to ask himself if that even mattered anymore.

After all, for all he knew, Taehyung was gone.


	8. epilogue

Eventually, Jeongguk found himself standing upon the ledge of the roof of his apartment building.

With tears of grief in his eyes, he glanced down at the concrete below, wanting nothing more than for the unbearable pain he felt to end. He knew all of his troubles would disappear if he were to jump, but even so, he just couldn't bring himself to step over the edge.

Meanwhile,Taehyung sat anxiously waiting in Jeongguk's apartment all evening, wondering where the younger man could've possibly gone, considering Jonas had told him to wait there.

Minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into Taehyung nearly falling asleep on the couch, until he heard the front door knob turn. With that, Taehyung instantly stood from the couch and, once Jeongguk entered the apartment, he was sprinting toward the door to throw his arms around Jeongguk's neck.

Taehyung's fingers desperately clutched at the back of Jeongguk's shirt, like he had to be sure that the man was really there, before he breathlessly asked, "where have you been?"

Jeongguk didn't answer at first, as he appeared to be in shock, by both the sight and the feeling of Taehyung standing there with him.

"Hey," Taehyung said, leaning away to look Jeongguk in his wide, brown eyes. "Are you okay?"

That's when Taehyung noticed the small, coin-like scar at the side of Jeongguk's neck.

"Oh, my God..." his heart sank and shattered with the realization that Jeongguk had been cured, leading his voice to break as he asked him, " _why_?"

"I... I thought you were gone," Jeongguk answered honestly, making Taehyung stressfully card his fingers through his own hair.

"H-How long do you have?" he asked, just as quietly as the tears that began to drip down his cheeks.

"Maybe five hours..." Jeongguk shook his head self-deprecatingly, as he began to cry as well.

"Jeongguk," Taehyung reached for his nape and brought him into his embrace once more. "Fight it..." he whispered to him, "it doesn't matter. Fight it. Okay?"

Jeongguk sniffled in an attempt to quit crying, but the immense amount of guilt he felt in that moment was the heaviest he'd ever felt by far, as he couldn't see a clean way out of this.

Taehyung, however, wasn't ready to give up.

"I'm still pregnant," he told Jeongguk, whose face momentarily lit up, despite his tears, whilst he glanced down at Taehyung's waistline. "We're gonna get on the train tomorrow... okay?"

"I love you," Jeongguk sobbed, momentarily resting his forehead against Taehyung's, as he wrapped his arms around his lover's waist to pull him even closer.

"I love you," Taehyung replied immediately. Then, like a mantra to help Jeongguk remember the feeling, he repeated the three powerful words, "I love you, I love you, I love you. You just have to fight it..."

"I can already tell it's in me..." Jeongguk shook his head sorrowfully.

"Just _remember_..." Taehyung helplessly begged, as if doing so would somehow make it easier, "okay? Remember this feeling."

With one hand still holding on tight to Jeongguk's nape, and the other softly caressing his scarred cheek, he said, "just remember what this feels like."

"P-Promise me..." Jeongguk sniffled once more, "no matter what happens, you keep loving me. No matter what I say, what I feel or don't feel... I'm still--I'm still in here, trying. Okay?"

"I know," Taehyung nodded sincerely.

"I'm still in here. Just don't give up on me," Jeongguk desperately pleaded. " _Please_ , don't give up on me. _Please_."

"I _promise you_ ," Taehyung assured him. "I _promise you_ , I won't."

**\---**

Taehyung woke up alone sometime the following morning, after a long night of holding Jeongguk's sobbing frame in his arms, until they both inevitably fell asleep, too exhausted to fight it off any longer.

He glanced around the apartment then, finding nothing until he spotted Jeongguk standing near the windows, completely dressed in his typical suit of crisp white.

So Taehyung slowly made his way closer, but he kept a good distance between them--just in case--when he hesitantly called Jeongguk's name.

"Jeongguk?"

With that, the younger man promptly turned on his heel to face Taehyung with a blank expression.

"Good morning," Jeongguk bid him flatly.

Then, even if he was absolutely terrified of the answer he would receive, Taehyung asked, "do you still love me...?"

Jeongguk seemed to ponder the question for a moment, which did nothing to ease the tension Taehyung could feel tugging them apart, before he finally answered.

"I remember that I loved you," Jeongguk said, "but... I don't feel it anymore."

So Taehyung closed his glassy eyes while he timidly asked, "do you still want to go...?"

"We made a plan," Jeongguk nodded, leading Taehyung to look up at him once more, with his eyes alight and his lips parted in wonder.

**\---**

_"This is the non-local transport, serving outlying regions with three stops. The final destination port will be Welling, at the outer Peninsula."_

Taehyung silently cried on the train ride away from The Collective, doing his best to keep himself from completely falling apart, as they still had a ways to go before they'd reach their destination, and he couldn't help but recall all of the lovely memories he'd made with Jeongguk amongst the silence.

The younger man sat in the seat behind Taehyung's, so as to appear less suspicious to the others seated around them, but as time went on and they passed each stop, more and more people stepped off, allowing the couple to let their guards down a bit.

So, after watching the very last stranger stand from his seat and step off the train, Jeongguk stood from his own seat to join Taehyung's side in the row ahead.

Taehyung glanced over at him then, a little unsure as to why Jeongguk suddenly decided to move, before he hesitantly rested his hand over the back of Taehyung's, where it'd been lying idle upon his thigh.

Then, Jeongguk met his gaze as well and, regardless of the seemingly hollow look in his eyes, Taehyung smiled when Jeongguk chose to lace their fingers together instead.

For he truly believed, that somewhere, deep down inside, his Jeongguk was still there.

His Jeongguk still loved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE
> 
> I apologize if you found the ending of this remake to be a bit short. It's just how the movie ends, unfortunately. 😅 I really enjoyed it, but I understand that won't be the case for everyone. 
> 
> Regardless, thank you for reading! Take care. 💜


End file.
